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The Official Los Angeles Lakers thread
Teddy Roosevelt:
--- Quote from: wcsoldier on October 10, 2006, 12:08:04 AM ---First game against Utah today... :rock:
--- End quote ---
16 hours and 45 minutes in the Laker time zone.
Stone Cold is Bout It, Bout It:
--- Quote from: Malik Ted - Sophomore of the Year on October 10, 2006, 12:16:47 AM ---
--- Quote from: wcsoldier on October 10, 2006, 12:08:04 AM ---First game against Utah today... :rock:
--- End quote ---
16 hours and 45 minutes in the Laker time zone.
--- End quote ---
:banana_trippin:
_____________
Phil Jackson returns to Lakers
--- Quote ---EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) - Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson attended a scrimmage and a good portion of his team's practice the past two days, and made his presence felt at Monday's workout.
Jackson, who had right hip replacement surgery last Tuesday, jumped right in at practice and demanded his players run a part of the offense assistant coach Kurt Rambis was holding back.
"He came in and one of the elements of the offense that I've been holding onto because I didn't feel like this group was ready for it, he shoved it right down their throats this morning," Rambis said. "So he got them going on that part of the offense."
Rambis, who has been running practices in the 61-year-old coach's absence, said the offense Jackson insisted the players run was simply another way to initiate the triangle.
Rambis said Jackson was around for about three-quarters of Monday's practice, but wasn't there when the media was allowed in.
There is no timetable for Jackson's return on a full-time basis, although he said the day before his surgery he expects to be on the bench Oct. 31 when the Lakers open the season against the Phoenix Suns.
Jackson won't be with the Lakers on Tuesday night when they play Utah in Fresno to begin the exhibition season.
Rambis said Jackson spoke to the team about communicating on defense and passing, and the players seemed to be paying strict attention.
"He's their ultimate leader," Rambis said. "He's the one that's going to be commanding them for the majority of the season."
Rambis said Jackson probably will return when his energy level is back to normal.
"You can see that he's getting better, feeling better," Rambis said. "Even from last night to this morning, he was spryer today and barking out commands to the guys. You could tell the itch was there with him. He's eager to get back."
Kobe Bryant, the defending NBA scoring champion who's still recovering from arthroscopic surgery on his right knee three months ago, did a little work Monday without facing any defense. Bryant won't play Tuesday night, and said his return to practice remains day-to-day.
He said he will continue to do weight training and therapy on his knee.
"I'm feeling pretty good," Bryant said. "We're right on schedule. We're just taking our time and were taking it day by day, but I feel it getting better, getting stronger."
--- End quote ---
http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/6034196
LAKERS_FAN89:
Today is the first preseason game for the Lakers. They take on the Utah Jazz today at 7:00 PM in Fresno, CA. The problem is you might not see it on TV, but, you can hear the whole game on the radio. Go to dial AM 570 for those who live in Los Angeles area and the Antelope Valley at AM 610. So Go Lakers!
Now_Im_Not_Banned:
Seriously, fuck K-Cal...Thank God for AM 570 though. 8)
Now_Im_Not_Banned:
Kurt Rambis A Head Coach?
12:18 AM PDT on Tuesday, October 10, 2006
By BRODERICK TURNER
The Press-Enterprise
EL SEGUNDO - It was not the ideal situation, but it was an opportunity Kurt Rambis gladly accepted.
He would be in charge of the Lakers while head coach Phil Jackson recovered from right hip replacement surgery. His voice would be the voice of authority for the players. His commands would be the commands the Lakers would follow. His knowledge would be shared with the players.
Now whether or not this leads to Rambis taking the controls of his own team one day remains to be seen, but he remains hopeful that he'll be given the opportunity to be THE MAN.
"I would love to be a head coach in the NBA," said Rambis, a Lakers assistant coach and former player. "That's my ultimate goal."
It seems that whenever Rambis, 48, has been given the controls of a team it has always been under trying circumstances.
When Del Harris was fired in 1999 after the Lakers got off to a 6-6 start, Rambis was promoted from assistant to head coach.
But that was the lockout-shortened season.
Rambis didn't have the luxury of a training camp. The team had traded starting point guard Nick Van Exel that summer, brought in controversial Dennis Rodman right before Rambis took over and then traded Eddie Jones and Elden Campbell to the Hornets for Glen Rice and J. R. Reid.
Still, Rambis directed the team to nine consecutive victories, which tied a then-NBA record for most wins to start a head coaching career. The Lakers finished with a 24-13 record under Rambis and lost to the eventual NBA champion San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference semifinals.
But when the season was over, the Lakers decided to go in another direction and hired Jackson, who had been sitting out the 1998-99 season after not being brought back by the Chicago Bulls.
So there went the opportunity for Rambis, a fan favorite when he was apart of the "Showtime" Lakers of the 1980s.
"It was unfortunate that I didn't get another opportunity to continue the following year," said Rambis, who won four NBA titles with the Lakers as a player and who was known as "Clark Kent" because of the black-rimmed glasses he wore. "But I understand from a business standpoint, when Phil Jackson is available, obviously the organization was going to look at that. So from that aspect, it was a little frustrating. But it was also a tremendous opportunity to be the coach. ... It was learning to be a head coach by fire that year."
Rambis didn't know if he'd ever get that chance again. He went to work in the Lakers' front office for two years as an advisor and assistant general manager.
He got back into coaching when he joined Jackson's staff in 2001.
Rambis said he has learned so much from Jackson and that has helped him run this training camp.
Kobe Bryant, who was on that team in 1999, recalled what a difficult time it was for Rambis.
"It was a tough situation for him to be in in the first place," Bryant said. "I just think he's doing a great job now. He's teaching the game and his knowledge of the game, he's trying to share that with the players. I think he's doing a fantastic job."
Jackson has one of the best assistant coaching staffs in the NBA, and he could have chosen Frank Hamblen, Brian Shaw or Jim Cleamons to run the camp while he recovered from his procedure. But he chose Rambis, who also served as the Lakers' summer league coach.
"When you have a coach like Phil Jackson that can't practice the team and he's asked to pick somebody to fill in for him and he picks Kurt Rambis, I think that goes a long way in this league when people look to get a coach," Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said. "Phil Jackson trusts Kurt enough to take the team in his absence. So that's a heck of a sign of confidence by our head coach."
Rambis has the respect of the players, and that has gone a long way during camp.
They talk about how he is a great tutor, about how he speaks his mind with authority but doesn't insult a player.
"If Kurt had 12 guys that he had never met before, I think he can get them to play for him," Lamar Odom said. "Kurt is real easygoing. If you can't play for a coach like that, then you might have a problem."
Rambis' wife, Linda, talked about the passion her husband has for coaching. She always has supported Kurt, first as a player and now as an assistant coach.
She knows her husband yearns to be a head coach again.
"I think it's something that he'd love to happen," she said. "But I don't think that he's dissatisfied with his current situation, either. I think that if it happens, great, and it's something that he'd like to happen. But it's not something that he's actively out there trying to make happen."
Rambis shares a lot of his duties with Hamblen, Shaw, Cleamons and Tex Winter.
Still, Jackson made Rambis the man in charge while he is away.
This is an opportunity to show his wherewithal, but Rambis also is measured about what it actually means and can mean for his future.
"This is a good experience for me," Rambis said. "But I don't know if anybody on the outside is going, 'Hmm, I heard Kurt Rambis had a good training camp.' ... But it's good for me."
I honestly see him as a Laker coach once Phil steps down...I believe it wouldn't be a bad choice either.
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